teehee!

Being a teeny blonde thing myself, I obviously love these two.

a good thing for a certain Harvard-educated actress

I think it's really good for Natalie Portman that I can watch the third episode of Star Wars and think nothing more than "wow, Natalie Portman is really stunningly gorgeous." It's vaguely insulting that they had Keira Knightley as her decoy in the first one...

oh lord, Jake Gyllenhaal.

I always want to write some rant about Jake Gyllenhaal, about how he's a good actor but terribly overrated just because he's gorgeous...

And then he shows up somewhere looking like this. How can I argue with the Jake? How can I? I can just be grateful that whoever is up there lets people look like this grace our screens. Again, and for the billionth time, apologies to the boyf. He's hotter than Jake anyway ;)

happy birthday Rodrigo Santoro!

Oh... yum

news about two of my favorites today...

Murray May Face Swedish Golf Cart DUI
BILL??? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING???

Oscar Nominee Laura Linney Engaged
At least she's being sane...

today's IMDb poll is retarded.

Laura Linney is typecast as the "woman with issues"? Isn't virtually every good female role a "woman with issues"? That's what makes the roles good. They have issues that they have to sort out, and deal with. I mean, what if the characters had no issues? Then they'd be perfect. And that's not much fun for an actor, now is it?

oh, Scarlett.

(ignore the talentless thing on the right)
Scarlett, you know I'll love you forever. All it took was Lost in Translation. But, take it from one of your most ardent supporters: you were so much better when you were an actress and not a product of hype, like here in the despicable Ghost World (in which you were great). Your performances in Scoop and The Prestige were hardly bad, but when you're in 230580584698 movies like you were last year, I'd expect Girl with a Pearl Earring-level brilliance in at least one of them...

whoah!

I just saw a new and okay, probably more obvious trailer for Eastern Promises and now you can take it off of the list of movies that I'm not so excited for. Wow! It actually looks interesting, Naomi seems to be in awesome mode, and Viggo really could not get any better-looking, goddamn. Although I was amused that they said it was from the director of "The" History of Violence.

Cate looks a little deranged in this picture

Is it just me, or did Cate go from one of Oscar's most neglected to one of its most loved? Especially considering she's getting nuts buzz for both The Golden Age (though the backlash has started for that already, hooray!) and I'm Not There. I swear to God, if the Oscar Best Actress lineup has both Cate and Keira, no matter how good they are (though I shouldn't say that...), and no Julie Christie, I will cry. I will cry a lot.

...god, the Oscars. They make the most sane among us nuts.

uh, is it just me...

or does Alana Allen give one of the WORST PERFORMANCES EVER in Camp? Horrible unsympathetic character. But she could have played it so much better. So fake and obvious. Ugh.

I think the movie is both realistic (from a theater dork herself) and completely exaggerated. But it's got a cameo by God, so it's at least okay!

Those poor things known as "the nominations for musical/comedy"

So we can all agree that Musical/Comedy is a pretty ignored category through the years. So, here are my personal nominations in that category for every year. Note: I was pretty broad with my definition of "musical/comedy..." Here is where I'm willing to call utter fraud (Ray ain't a comedy, and it isn't really a musical, but... Lost in Translation's status as a comedy can be debated, but...). In order of preference.

2000
Best Picture
Best in Show
Wonder Boys
Nurse Betty
Dancer in the Dark
American Psycho (some kind of crazy and demented comedy, but a comedy.)

Best Actor
Christian Bale, American Psycho
Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys
George Clooney, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
John Cusack, High Fidelity
Samuel L. Jackson, Shaft (err...it's sort of a comedy, no?)

Best Actress
Renee Zellweger, Nurse Betty
There are no other okay candidates. Seriously. Bjork was awful.

Best Supporting Actor
Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire
Jeffrey Wright, Shaft (he should have been on my Gods of Acting post from yesterday. I'M SORRY, JEFF! :( )
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Almost Famous
Jack Black, High Fidelity
Robert Downey Jr., Wonder Boys

Best Supporting Actress
Parker Posey, Best in Show
Catherine Deneuve, Dancer in the Dark
Frances McDormand, Almost Famous
Frances McDormand, Wonder Boys
Kate Hudson, Almost Famous


2001
Best Picture
Moulin Rouge!
Gosford Park
Shrek
Zoolander
Bridget Jones' Diary

Best Actor
Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge!
Gene Hackman, The Royal Tenenbaums
John Cameron Mitchell, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Ben Stiller, Zoolander
Ray Winstone, Sexy Beast (pitch-black comedy...)

Best Actress
Nicole Kidman, Moulin Rouge!
Renee Zellweger, Bridget Jones' Diary
Reese Witherspoon, Legally Blonde
Piper Perabo, Lost and Delirious (comedy...?)
Kirsten Dunst, The Cat's Meow

Best Supporting Actor
Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
Steve Buscemi, Ghost World
Jim Broadbent, Moulin Rouge!
Will Ferrell, Zoolander
Luke Wilson, The Royal Tenenbaums

Best Supporting Actress
Gwyneth Paltrow, The Royal Tenenbaums
Helen Mirren, Gosford Park
Maggie Smith, Gosford Park
Scarlett Johansson, Ghost World
Emily Watson, Gosford Park


2002
Best Picture
Chicago
Adaptation.
About Schmidt
Catch Me If You Can (another debatable comedy)
Secretary

Best Actor
Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt
Campbell Scott, Roger Dodger
Nicolas Cage, Adaptation.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Catch Me If You Can
Hugh Grant, About a Boy

Best Actress
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Secretary
Renee Zellweger, Chicago
Catherine Keener, Lovely and Amazing
Jennifer Aniston, The Good Girl
Jennifer Westfeldt, Kissing Jessica Stein

Best Supporting Actor
Chris Cooper, Adaptation.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Punch-Drunk Love
Christopher Walken, Catch Me If You Can
John C. Reilly, Chicago
Ian Somerhalder, Rules of Attraction

Best Supporting Actress
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
Meryl Streep, Adaptation.
Emily Watson, Punch-Drunk Love
Emily Mortimer, Lovely and Amazing
Toni Collette, About a Boy


2003
Best Picture
Lost in Translation
Finding Nemo
Big Fish
Love Actually
The Company ("musical")

Best Actor
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
Robert Downey Jr., The Singing Detective
Paul Giamatti, American Splendor
Jack Black, School of Rock
George Clooney, Intolerable Cruelty

Best Actress
Scarlett Johansson, Lost in Translation
Jamie Lee Curtis, Freaky Friday
Renee Zellweger, Down with Love
Helen Mirren, Calendar Girls
Diane Lane, Under the Tuscan Sun

Best Supporting Actor
Bill Nighy, Love Actually
Hugh Grant, Love Actually
Albert Finney, Big Fish
Colin Firth, Love Actually
Geoffrey Rush, Pirates of the Carribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Best Supporting Actress
Catherine O'Hara, A Mighty Wind
Ellen DeGeneres, Finding Nemo
Emma Thompson, Love Actually
Laura Linney, Love Actually
Anna Faris, Lost in Translation


2004
Best Picture
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Mean Girls
Sideways
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Anchorman

Best Actor
Paul Giamatti, Sideways
Jamie Foxx, Ray
Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Bill Murray, The Life Aquatic...
Will Ferrell, Anchorman

Best Actress
Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Laura Linney, P.S. (comedy?)
Jennifer Garner, 13 Going on 30
Lindsay Lohan, Mean Girls
Holly Hunter, The Incredibles

Best Supporting Actor
Jude Law, I Heart Huckabees
Steve Carell, Anchorman
Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
Tom Wilkinson, Eternal Sunshine...
Topher Grace, In Good Company

Best Supporting Actress
Virginia Madsen, Sideways
Kirsten Dunst, Eternal Sunshine...
Rachel McAdams, Mean Girls
Natalie Portman, Garden State
Lacey Chabert, Mean Girls


2005
Best Picture
Pride and Prejudice
The Squid and the Whale
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Wedding Crashers
Broken Flowers

Best Actor
Steve Carell, The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Robert Downey Jr., Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Bill Murray, Broken Flowers
Terrence Howard, Hustle and Flow ("musical")
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line

Best Actress
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
Keira Knightley, Pride and Prejudice
Lisa Kudrow, Happy Endings
Toni Collette, In Her Shoes
Radha Mitchell, Melinda and Melinda (half comedy's good enough, huh ;) )

Best Supporting Actor
Jesse L. Martin, Rent
Donald Sutherland, Pride and Prejudice
Jeff Daniels, The Squid and the Whale
Vince Vaughn, Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Jeffrey Wright, Broken Flowers

Best Supporting Actress
Laura Linney, The Squid and the Whale
Rosario Dawson, Rent
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Happy Endings
Isla Fisher, Wedding Crashers
Catherine Keener, The 40-Year-Old Virgin


2006
Best Picture
Marie-Antoinette ("comedy")
Borat
Dreamgirls
Volver
Little Miss Sunshine

Best Actor
Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat
Peter O'Toole, Venus
Aaron Eckhart, Thank You For Smoking
Joe Cross, Running with Scissors
Will Ferrell, Stranger than Fiction

Best Actress
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kirsten Dunst, Marie-Antoinette
Melinda Page Hamilton, Sleeping Dogs Lie
Catherine O'Hara, For Your Consideration
Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Best Supporting Actor
Steve Carell, Little Miss Sunshine
Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
Greg Kinnear, Little Miss Sunshine
Stanley Tucci, The Devil Wears Prada
Woody Allen, Scoop

Best Supporting Actress (suck it Emily Blunt)
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stranger than Fiction
Toni Collette, Little Miss Sunshine
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
Kate Winslet, Romance and Cigarettes
Emma Thompson, Stranger than Fiction



YAY, DONE. And yes, I had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for some of these, but some are actually better than the corresponding categories in drama (Best Supporting Actress 04)

You know what I just realized?

The other two girls in Mean Girls don't get any attention at all, and that's sad. No, neither were nom-worthy (though I don't nominate Rachel or Lindsay either), but Amanda Seyfried and especially Lacey Chabert were better than most of the Oscar nominees (I'm looking at you, Sophie, Cate, and Natalie).

"writers' block"

So my five gods of acting, in picture form. Are they the five greatest actors who ever lived? No. But, they are the five that bring me the most joy whenever they are on screen, coupled with fantastic performances to boot.

Edit: Jeffrey Wright should be on there too! Sorry, brain fart. Blah

the dad, on Fight Club

Dad: So what happened to Brad Pitt at the end?
Me: Well, Edward Norton shot himself through the head to get rid of him.
Dad: Why? What?
Me: ...because Brad Pitt was the other part of his split personality?
Dad: Whaaaaaa????? But they were like, in the room together! At the same time! And Brad talked to him and stuff!
Me: ...

(I love my dad, or as I call him, the padge, mucho. But seriously.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EDWARD NORTON!

One of the best working actors, and sexy as hell to boot.

happy birthday Bobby!

you only give, oh, five or so of the best performances ever in raging bull, taxi driver, the king of comedy, the godfather part 2, and the deer hunter. and i secretly looooved you in stardust! you're a king, at any rate.

I bet this was everyone's first thought seeing this picture

Ennis del Mar, totally fucked up by his relationship with Jack Twist, went irrefutably crazy and turned into a homicidal and demented man, prone to wearing bizarre makeup. One day on the street, he saw Jack's estranged sister who, in his dementia, he mistook for Jack. Life started to turn bad for the lovely young lass (okay, I don't know how she was young when Ennis was old. Whatever.) when Ennis, convinced she was Jack reincarnated, started to stalk her...

Stay tuned this fall for Brokeback Mountain 2: Fatal Attraction 2: Dead Ringers 2...

(omigod The Dark Knight CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH)

hooray!!!

I love him. And it's his birthday. Yay!!!!

"OHHHHHH KELLY CLARKSON!!!!"

oh my god, i was JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS

no, that's not...what it looks like. But still.

happy birthday oh secret favorite.

Okay, he's definitely not my favorite favorite, but I do love me some Baffleck. He makes horrendous career choices, but when he's in good movies, he is indeed good. I give him a nom for Shakespeare in Love, shockingly enough, and wish I had room for him for Hollywoodland. Anyone that dislikes him nowadays is just picking on him; he makes actual decent career choices and is totally not a media whore any more. Happy birthday Ben! Your family is so adorable!

Okay, Anne. We have to talk.

Click here to see what inspired this (which is, indeed, the first thing that pops up when you Google Image Search Anne Hathaway). NSFW.

Anne. In interviews with you that I have read, one thing stands out to me: dear lord, do you want to be Lindsay Lohan. You're really trying to do that "Disney girl gone bad" thing, down to mimicking her candor and your whining that if we all saw what you did in college, you'd be in just as much trouble as her (yuh-huh). Except where Lindsay Lohan is gorgeous, somehow totally interesting, and actually talented (well, she was), you are bland, completely sexless, and talentless. Nobody makes much of a big deal whenever you flash your tits, which seems to be as often as possible, huh? Oh, too bad. Maybe if you weren't so intrinsically boring.

Go back to Disney (where you are actually at your best acting-wise since you don't try so damn hard) and keep your scary mouth away. Oh, and Becoming Jane was terribly boring and you certainly weren't doing anything to help.

Embarassing confession time!

I like Inside Man better than this movie. Yes, I realize that without the above movie, Inside Man would never exist. It's still so much more fun, while being smart too!

Oh, and I'm 20, and still enjoy playing Pokemon (it's actually a pretty complicated game, but the anime gives it a bad kiddie name). Suck it!

Happy birthday Steve Martin!

Love, love, love, love, love you in Roxanne!

Hitchy's b-day.

As you should probably know, today's the birthday of the master himself, Hitchcock. Is he my favorite director? No. But I'm certainly not going to pretend he's not one of the best directors of all time, and certainly an endlessly influential one. Just think of all the crap we would have been spared, had Psycho not existed. ;) Nah. Just kidding, Alfie. Love your cameos, love Vertigo (among others, obviously), in my top 10 of the best movies of all time.

I'm inspired by IMDb polls.

^ Because she is awesome, and her dress in this picture is totally awesome

So a few days ago, the poll was actresses without Oscar noms. Today, the poll is actors without Oscar noms. So, I was inspired: the Pulpy nominations of both the ladies and the gentlemen without Oscar nominations.

Scarlett Johansson
Best Supporting Actress 1998 - The Horse Whisperer
Best Actress 2003 - Lost in Translation *
A finalist for Ghost World, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Match Point; semi-finalist for A Love Song for Bobby Long and Scoop; honorable mention for The Prestige (in which I liked her, so suck it)

Maggie Gyllenhaal
Best Actress 2002 - Secretary
A finalist for Happy Endings, Sherrybaby, and Stranger than Fiction; an honorable mention for World Trade Center and Trust the Man

Christina Ricci
Best Supporting Actress 1993 - Addams Family Values
Best Supporting Actress 1997 - The Ice Storm
Best Actress 1998 - Buffalo '66
A finalist for The Opposite of Sex (though she got a nom for Buffalo '66 the same year) and, currently, Black Snake Moan

Jennifer Jason Leigh
Best Actress 1989 - Last Exit to Brooklyn *
Best Actress 1994 - Ms. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Best Supporting Actress 1994 - The Hudsucker Proxy
Best Supporting Actress 1995 - Dolores Claiborne
A finalist for Single White Female

Tilda Swinton
none, a semi-finalist for The Deep End

Maria Bello
Best Supporting Actress 2005 - A History of Violence
A semi-finalist for The Cooler and an honorary mention for World Trade Center

Parker Posey
none; finalist for Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman

Rachel McAdams
none; finalist for Mean Girls and a semi-finalist for Red Eye

Claire Danes
none; finalist for Shopgirl and currently a semi-finalist for Stardust

Kirsten Dunst
Best Supporting Actress 1994 - Interview with the Vampire
Best Supporting Actress 2000 - The Virgin Suicides
Best Supporting Actress 2004 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Best Actress 2006 - Marie-Antoinette (likely, but I've change my Actress 2006 lineup a million times.)
A semi-finalist for Drop Dead Gorgeous, crazy/beautiful, and Dick

Ziyi Zhang
Best Actress 2000 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best Supporting Actress 2005 - 2046

Sarah Polley
Best Supporting Actress 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter *
A finalist for My Life without Me and (currently) for directing Away from Her

Thandie Newton
none

Emily Mortimer
none, a finalist for Lovely and Amazing and a semi-finalist for Match Point

Emily Blunt
needless to say, none...an honorable mention for The Devil Wears Prada

Gary Oldman
Best Actor 1986 - Sid and Nancy
Best Supporting Actor 1991 - JFK
Currently a semi-finalist for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Christian Bale
Best Actor 1987 - Empire of the Sun
Best Actor 2000 - American Psycho *
Best Actor 2007 - Rescue Dawn * (currently)
Finalist for The Machinist and an honorable mention for Batman Begins and The Prestige

Alan Rickman
Best Supporting Actor 1988 - Die Hard *
Best Actor 1991 - Truly Madly Deeply
Best Actor 1996 - Rasputin (if you count TV movies)
Best Actor 2004 - Something the Lord Made (if you count TV movies)
An honorable mention for Love Actually and, of course, as Snape.

Steve Buscemi
Best Supporting Actor 1996 - Fargo
Best Supporting Actor 2001 - Ghost World
Best Actor 2007 - Interview (currently)
A finalist for Reservoir Dogs

Ewan McGregor
Best Actor 2001 - Moulin Rouge!
A finalist for Transpotting and a semi-finalist for Down with Love

Alfred Molina
none, a semi-finalist for Boogie Nights and Spider-Man 2

Bill Nighy
Best Supporting Actor 2003 - Love Actually
A semi-finalist for Still Crazy

Cillian Murphy
none, a semi-finalist for Breakfast on Pluto and an honorable mention for 28 Days Later...

Paul Bettany
none, a finalist for Dogville and a semi-finalist for Master and Commander

Chiwetel Ejiofor
none, a finalist for Dirty Pretty Things

Daniel Craig
none, a finalist for Casino Royale

Andy Serkis
none, a finalist for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Joseph Fiennes
none

Stellan Skarsgard
none

Peter Stormare
none

Robert Carlyle
none, a semi-finalist for Trainspotting

I love you, Colin!

You're so hot! Even when doing this! Love!

I just love her. I can't help it.

1. eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
2. the virgin suicides
3. marie-antoinette
4. interview with the vampire
5. crazy/beautiful
6. drop dead gorgeous
7. dick
8. spider-man 2
9. bring it on
10. spider-man 3
11. the cat's meow
12. spider-man
13. wimbledon
14. mona lisa smile
15. elizabethtown (i love ya, kris, but...worthy of a razzie)

Spider-Man 2 is perfect.

Suck it, every other action movie.

Overrated supporting actresses.

I just realized that for every year since 1998, I find an popular Supporting Actress choice to be either extremely overrated, or just plain bad. (Here's me being grumpy again.) So, here they are.

1998: Joan Allen, Pleasantville (you know how sometimes, you just don't see what other people see in a performance, and you can't really explain why? Yeah. That's the case here. So well-described, I know.)
1999: Thora Birch, American Beauty (as far as supporting actresses in that film go, Mena Suvari schooled her. Thora pouted a lot and was terribly boring, but she flashed her boobs at 16 so the guys liked her. Thora Birch is really a pretty awful actress; she doesn't add any depth to her performances, but because people tend to relate to her characters, they like her more. Except for Paradise, I've never liked her in anything.)
2000: Kate Hudson, Almost Famous (more ridiculously overrated than bad. I wouldn't have screamed and cried had she got the Oscar, though Harden was better.)
2001: Jennifer Connelly, A Beautiful Mind (utterly awful. Her Oscar win is a joke)
2002: Julianne Moore, The Hours (like Hudson, not bad, just ridiculously overrated. And lead. Can't touch Zeta-Jones or Streep as well as several others, way outclassed by Collette in the scene between the two, and wayyyy inferior to her turn in Far from Heaven. I've found more than one person that considers this the best performance of her career, and one of the best of all time...frightening.)
2003: Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April (oh Patty. You're capable of so much more. Like The Station Agent and All the Real Girls this very same year.)
2004: Cate Blanchett, The Aviator (I'll never understand the praise for this. Shallow, empty, one-dimensional, and without an ounce of the fun Hepburn exuded.)
2005: Amy Adams, Junebug (good, yes. Better than a lot of other supporting actresses that year [Bello, Linney, Weisz, Williams, Zhang, Gyllenhaal, Johansson, Keener in 40-Year-Old-Virgin...], no. Heck, she wasn't even the best red-haired supporting actress that year; that honor goes to Isla Fisher. The way some people were calling this the "best performance ever" caused me to think this chick was so overrated. I still like her, though. She's adorable, and a great example of how an annoying performance can be good.)
2006: Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada (need I say more? [I will anyway] Remember how I was saying Cate was one-dimensional? Well, Emily might get away with it a little better, because her character isn't as well-written, but it doesn't mean she gets away with it. Not even people who are good at writing about movies can defend her properly. They're all just like "err...she's funny! And then her character gets desperate! Funny! Ha!" Emily's hardly alone, though; Blanchett in Notes [a blatant co-lead] and Kikuchi in Babel are also hideously overrated. Blanchett was both unspecific in her character choices and way over-the-top, and though I hate to simplify performances like this [though I did it for Thora up there, I suppose], all Kikuchi did was flash her vagina a lot and make odd faces.)


ranking these, best to worst:
Amy Adams
Kate Hudson
Julianne Moore
Joan Allen
Emily Blunt
Patricia Clarkson
Thora Birch
Jennifer Connelly

another IMDb thing

Some post asked me to rank the following actresses. So, I did.

Kate Winslet
Nicole Kidman
Julianne Moore (though she's greatly overrated by her fanboys)
Rachel Weisz (that's right. I ranked Rachel over Cate. I like her more, and her performance in The Constant Gardener is loads better than anything Cate's ever done. Ya'll can just deal.)
Cate Blanchett
Naomi Watts (I love her since re-viewing The Painted Veil and her baby. Though she still sucked in 21 Grams and King Kong)
Charlize Theron
Cameron Diaz (seriously. She can be brilliant)
Jennifer Connelly
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Katie Holmes
Kate Beckinsale
Eva Mendes

Movies I should probably be looking forward to a little more...

Or, "Why Justine [obviously not my real name] Doesn't Really Care That Much About the Prestige Picture Season of 2007." And yes, some of these were on my "most anticipated" list at the beginning of the year...

Atonement - I read the book, and it was really good, and I'm gonna mention that I sat next to Ian McEwan one time again, but when I heard they were gonna make it into a movie I was like "errr..." It could work. I mean, The Hours is basically just internal monologues, and the movie certainly has its strong points, but I'm just...more skeptical than a lot of people, let's put it that way. Plus, you can't get me excited about a movie starring Keira and James. You just can't. Not that it matters, because everyone else seems to have enough excitement to make up for my lack thereof. Both Keira and James could be awful and everyone will be like "ACADEMY AWARD" because people think they are attractive (James, yes; Keira, nooooo). And that picture above just makes me want to eat a cheeseburger. Oh, and buy that dress, because it is fantastic.

Silk - TWO movies starring Keira? Ew. AND Michael Pitt. James might be overrated, but at least he can act.

Lust, Caution - I used to like Ang Lee, and he's still very obviously a talented director. But, in the awards season of Brokeback Mountain, he kind of proved to me that he's an entitled and terribly whiny man. Seriously, if I wanted to hear entitled, whiny, and overly hostile people whining about movies, I'd just read my fellow bloggers (ZING). Plus, it just...meh...

The Darjeeling Limited - Love the title and the trailer, but Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Schwartzman is like the unholy trinity of actors. Yuck.
Edit: OMG I just looked this up on IMDb and BILL MURRAY IS IN IT HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS??!?!!! You can take this off the list. It's probably just going to be a cameo but I will cry in joy anyway.

The Golden Age - Ugh, Cate. Go away. I'd rather have Keira win than Cate again, I think. Plus, judging from the trailer, she is ridiculously over-the-top and anachronistic. Yuck. While the first film was fine, it wasn't really screaming sequel, until Cate turned into the new Judi Dench (AKA: getting awards for doing things such as waking up and walking to the grocery store, even when she isn't deserving). On the other hand, if it gets Clive Owen or Samantha Morton an Oscar, I just might love this film forever.

Rendition - zzzz

Eastern Promises - I don't knoooow. A History of Violence was fantastic but this...just doesn't appeal to me.

I'm Not There - More Blanchett. Snore. Plus, Todd Haynes is terribly pretentious and his fans are annoying.

There Will Be Blood - Yeah, I know, Day-Lewis. But also, Dano. Based on his previous work, I just prefer PT in manic, gazillions-of-cast-members mode; Magnolia + Boogie Nights >>>>>>> Hard Eight + Punch-Drunk Love.

Sweeney Todd - Okay, the poster was awesome. And I am open to it being awesome. I don't like any of the three main players (its director, lead actor, and lead actress) but they are capable of being good to great. I just... would REALLY HATE to see it screwed up. It's maybe the best theatrical work from 1950 on.

Charlie Wilson's War - No matter how good it is, people are gonna say it sucks because it has Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts (cue all other bloggers: OMG HOW DARE THE ACADEMY LIKE PEOPLE I DON'T!!!!) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (OMG UGLY PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE ON CAMERA EW!). I can say it sucks because Mike Nichols AKA Mr. Faaaaantastic seems to have recruited the performers of two of the more overrated supporting actress turns in recent years, Amy Adams (who I still like) and Emily Blunt (who I don't); all he needs is Cate Blanchett for the trifecta. And, I don't know. It just doesn't appeal to me.

Lions for Lambs - Awful, boring trailers (not that I should hold that against it), and my God, MORE POLITICAL THRILLERS? They really don't appeal to me. Yes, The Constant Gardener was quite spectacular, but that was so much more than just a political thriller.

I'm such a cranky-boots today. I need a nap, or something. =/

Oh, Little Miss Sunshine.

You know you're one of my favorite movies from last year, right? Favorite, but not best? Seriously, you are really original, unlike, say, Garden State. And you don't try to bash me over the head with your quirkiness, unlike, say... well, Garden State again. So, why oh why oh why do you need to have the obligatory (and unfortunately Oscar-winning) "oh look! Isn't it funny when old people curse?!??!?!" character? Also, Paul Dano. Ew. I don't think I'm ever gonna warm up to him, which is why I'm not looking forward to There Will Be Blood all that much, but...

she is my secret favorite.

One of the most inherently lovable actresses currently working, along with, like, Kate Winslet, Rachel McAdams, and Emma Thompson.

I know you care intensely.

My winners for the honorary You Can Count on Me Award for the Movie with the Most Unfortunate Title.

2000: Well... You Can Count on Me. This title doesn't belong to a genius character study/family drama. It belongs to a Lifetime drama (though I'll admit, the way they use it in the film is brilliant. If there's one thing I hate, it's movies that make a point of having their characters say the frickin' title, something which bothers me every time I see Walk the Line. Yes, I know it's a song of his, do they really have to have poor Reese have some line that's IIRC "You better walk the line, John!!!" That was a long aside...). I read some blog entry once where the writer was moaning about how Spielberg had named his film Munich (this was obviously old) and how that was so boring and how Spielberg sucks (as I always say when people whine about Spielberg: oh, I'm so sorry that he's got more money and Oscars and respect and talent than you.). The writer then said something like, "what happened to the daring and fantastic film titles, such as You Can Count on Me?" and I was like "oh honey. No." And thus, the inspiration for this, uh, wonderful award was born.
2001: In the Bedroom. This...is a porno. Or crazy/beautiful, which is just awkward.
2002: Igby Goes Down. This...is also a porno. Or Morvern Callar, which makes me think "ooh, my cousin had that once. It hurts to pee for weeks."
2003: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World: I Think This Title Needs to be Longer
2004: Bad Education. This...is also also a porno.
2005: The Constant Gardener (pulling an upset victory against the perhaps more obvious candidate, The Squid and the Whale). That ain't a title for a political thriller, I'll tell you that.
2006: The Pursuit of Happyness. Yes, I know it's on purpose. But I'm an English minor (which is a scary thought when you look back at my "writing" on this thing). IT BOTHERS ME.
2007: I would say Ratatouille, were it not for that preview that taught you how to pronounce it. Brilliant. Instead, I'll have to go with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, because it's unfortunate to have to share a title with the worst book in history. Oh wait.

I can't help it.

I just love him (and apparently, so does whoever is in this picture. Is that Sharon Stone in Broken Flowers? I need to see that again). According to some biography I read of him online, he was one of the "world's biggest stars" in the early 1980s (though somehow I doubt this), when I was just a wee twinkle in the parentals' eyes, which makes me think I was born a few years too late. Ah, well.

happy birthday Eric Bana!

HOT.

she JUST GOT a star on Hollywood Boulevard?

I am hardly Michelle Pfeiffer's biggest fan (though just to make some of you happy: she totally deserved the Oscar for The Fabulous Baker Boys for sure, she is awesome in just the trailer for Stardust, and I totally covet that dress she's wearing above), but the fact that she JUST got a star is ludicrous. Shouldn't this have happened in like 1988? I mean, Britney Spears has one already...

Also, why is Jack Lemmon between Lassie and Kevin Costner? Neither is fit to surround his borderline-holy self.

I am pleased.

Way to go, IMDb voters.

My ranking:
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Scarlett Johansson (I know, I know. But I can't help it. I just love her. It's good will left over from Lost in Translation.)
Kirsten Dunst
Christina Ricci (I cannot put into words the joy the picture at the top of this page gives me.)
Maria Bello
Sarah Polley
Rachel McAdams
Ziyi Zhang
Parker Posey
Claire Danes
Emily Mortimer
Tilda Swinton (gar)
Thandie Newton (okay, so Emily was better in The Devil Wears Prada, as overrated as that performance is, than anything Thandie's ever been in. BUT AT LEAST THANDIE'S BEEN IN THE MOVIE BUSINESS FOR OVER, LIKE, A YEAR.)
Emily Blunt (HA.)

happy birthday Dustin Hoffman!!!

I didn't realize how frickin' old you are, but you're still one of my very very favorites!

PS. The Graduate is like the best movie ever!
PPS. So is Tootsie!
PPPS. So is Midnight Cowboy!
PPPPS. So is Marathon Man!
PPPPPS. Kramer vs. Kramer and Lenny and All the President's Men and Wag the Dog and I Heart Huckabees ain't too shabby either!
PPPPPPS. I may have a secret hidden spot for Hook but you didn't hear it from me!
PPPPPPPS. Rain Man not so much.

Fine, attempt to sue me through mail

I REALLY LOVE THIS MOVIE.

because random rankings are fun...

in blog/board world... I tried to be as objective as possible, which means you'll see actors and actresses I really like in the Overrated section and such... and note these are blogs/boards, not the Academy, in which case some of these would shift around a lot

Overrated
Johnny Depp
Cate Blanchett
Parker Posey
Emily Blunt
Anne Hathaway
Annette Bening
Gael Garcia Bernal
Keira Knightley
James McAvoy
Anthony Hopkins
Ben Kingsley
Marlon Brando
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jake Gyllenhaal
James Dean
Ryan Gosling
Heath Ledger (pre-BBM. Yeah, he was great, but dammit, you're a Pro-keback. Stop pretending you gave him the Oscar for Monster's Ball back in 2001.)
Ewan McGregor
River Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Jim Carrey
Gary Oldman
Sean Penn
Audrey Hepburn (I LOVE her. but GREAT actress? no.)
Vivien Leigh
Julianne Moore
Uma Thurman
Diane Keaton
Rachel McAdams
Helena Bonham Carter
Eva Green
Susan Sarandon
Naomi Watts
Ziyi Zhang
Tilda Swinton
Thora Birch
Winona Ryder
Michelle Pfeiffer
Toni Collette (though I adore her to all hell)
Patricia Clarkson

Underrated
Kevin Bacon
Alec Baldwin
Richard Burton
Steve Buscemi
Steve Carell
Michael Caine
Russell Crowe
Tom Cruise (okay, he's BATSHIT CRAZY. But when he wants to be, he's a really terrific actor, and everyone forgot that)
Colin Firth
Topher Grace
Alec Guinness
Tom Hanks (nobody likes him just cuz he won two Oscars)
Ed Harris
Dustin Hoffman (everyone's like BLAH BLAH BLAH NICHOLSON or BLAH BLAH BLAH PACINO or BLAH BLAH BLAH DE NIRO and poor Dustin gets ignored)
William Holden
Jack Lemmon
Steve Martin
Robert Mitchum
Sidney Poitier
Alan Rickman
Tim Robbins
Rod Steiger
Bruce Willis
Jeffrey Wright, love of my life
Ben Affleck (you know what? HE CAN ACT. HE REALLY CAN.)
Ian Holm
Anthony LaPaglia
Zero Mostel
Bill Nighy
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Hilary Swank
Rosario Dawson
Jennifer Garner
LAURA LINNEY
Samantha Morton
Gwyneth Paltrow
Thelma Ritter
Elisabeth Shue
Judy Davis
Kirsten Dunst
Anna Faris
Mia Farrow
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Diane Lane
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Christina Ricci
Eva Marie Sant
Lily Tomlin
Dianne Wiest
Charlize Theron

Weirdly Both Underrated and Overrated
Al Pacino
Jack Nicholson
Robert De Niro
Nicole Kidman
Scarlett Johansson
Natalie Portman
Kathy Bates
Imelda Staunton
Frances McDormand
Catherine O'Hara
Judi Dench
Maggie Smith
Laura Dern
Katharine Hepburn
Gong Li

Worthy of the Worship
Liv Ullmann
Bette Davis
Kate Winslet
Ralph Fiennes
Daniel Day-Lewis
Helen Mirren
Meryl Streep
Edward Norton
Bruce Campbell
Robert Downey Jr.
Bill Murray
Liam Neeson
Paul Newman
Denzel Washington
Gregory Peck
Peter O'Toole
Jodie Foster
Glenn Close
Holly Hunter
Elizabeth Taylor
Reese Witherspoon

Happy birthday Charlize Theron!

You're obviously lovely and, based on what I've seen of you on the red carpet, I want to steal everything in your closet. Heck, I even loved this much-misaligned dress. Also, like anyone with any sense at all, I loved you in Monster, and pretty much anyone that's still whining about your win is probably jealous because you are pretty and young and have an Oscar already. Yay!

So, uh...

Has anyone out there even seen a Borne film? I love me some Damon, but...

Classy, Ryan.

That said: I just wanted these two crazy kids to make it. Boo.

I know who killed me

No, I didn't see the movie.

I've held out on talking about Lindsay Lohan and her troubles because they make me bizarrely sad. I know they should fill me with a sense of schadenfreude, like Paris' do, but they don't. I finally figured out why they do today. Lindsay Lohan is gorgeous and talented. Look at who she worked with throughout her career, however short: Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson, Tina Fey, Robert Altman, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tommy Lee Jones, Rachel McAdams, Kevin Kline, John C. Reilly, Virginia Madsen, Jane Fonda, Emilio Estevez, William H. Macy, Sharon Stone, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Fishburne, Felicity Huffman... she could have been the next Jodie Foster or something. Instead, something inside her - I don't know whether it was the fact that at heart, she's really a cold bitch, or whether it was the fact that she never really had any sort of family - inspired her to want to be the next Paris Hilton. She doesn't want to use her talent; she'd rather spend her nights wasting it, sucking down drinks and sucking up coke. It's terribly sad, especially so because she's less than six months older than I am. Oh Lindsay, please less of what's above, and more of this:

For all our sakes.

Why not?

My top 25 films, at the moment, of this budding millennium.

25. Lantana
24. Spider-Man 2
23. In the Bedroom
22. Mystic River
21. A History of Violence
20. You Can Count on Me
19. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
18. The Constant Gardener
17. Adaptation.
16. Dogville
15. Requiem for a Dream
14. Bad Education
13. Minority Report
12. In the Mood for Love
11. Children of Men

10. Talk to Her
9. Marie-Antoinette
8. The Departed
7. Chicago
6. Moulin Rouge!
5. Kill Bill
4. 25th Hour
3. Lost in Translation
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
1. Angels in America

Morituri te salutamos.

"Okay."

"Man, oh man. Man oh man oh man."

boohoo.

but can you
save me
c'mon and save me
if you could
save me
from the ranks
of the freaks

who suspect
they could never love anyone.

Toni Collette is gorgeous.

Seriously. She always plays the sad, lonely, and loveless girl, so most of her movies don't do anything for her looks, and she's not typically Hollywood gorgeous like Naomi Watts or something, but she's beautiful. She's certainly more beautiful than actresses that, at times, I suspect may actually be men (seriously, have you people watched Elizabeth lately? Dude in pretty clothing).

Serious question I've been pondering since Hairspray

Who is James Marsden, and why have I not been stalking him before now.

"Look...at...me..."

This is why I love me some Jack

"With my sunglasses on, I'm Jack Nicholson. Without them, I'm fat and seventy."

The world could do with some more people with such a sense of self. And yes, I'm serious.

Ohhh YAY!

Happy birthday to the DIVINE Mary-Louise Parker. Yes, like everyone else who knows of her existence, I LOVE her. Well - why the hell wouldn't you?!?

Dear my fellow bloggers,

Your opinions are not the only ones that matter/the only ones in the world. Also, stop being so arrogant, and stop complaining. If the Oscars nominated a perfect lineup, you'd have nothing to say, so be thankful they don't.

Love for some of you,
Me

Filmwise is awesome.

...but hard. It's currently up to Round 2 and I can get some of these...especially the cameos (though #8 made me feel like an idiot cuz I dismissed it totally the first time and then kept looking at it like "I know this" and then I was like OH.)...but garrr hard.

I nominate this chick four times for my awards

That seems a little crazy, but I may have to accept it: I like Kirsten Dunst as an actress, most of the time. Like, a lot.

Happy birthday Mr. Kate Winslet!

You have your detractors by the dozens, but hey, you're the one with Kate Winslet and the Oscar, but ever more importantly, my support ;)